Judge Robert Wilkins was formally sworn in on Friday as the 61st judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at a ceremony dedicated to the African American judges who preceded Wilkins on the bench.
Wilkins, a former federal trial judge, paid tribute especially to Judge William Hastie, the first African American appointed to a federal circuit court, and Judge Spottswood Robinson III, the first African American to sit on the D.C. Circuit. Robinson, confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in 1966, was also the last judge on the court before Wilkins to be appointed from the D.C. district court.
